EUBCE 2026 - MIchael KOLM - Model-based Control of an Additively Manufactured Reactor for Catalytic Methanation of Biogenic Syngas

Model-based Control of an Additively Manufactured Reactor for Catalytic Methanation of Biogenic Syngas

Short Introductive summary

Using substitute natural gas instead of fossil natural gas significantly reduces fossil CO2 emissions. Substitute natural gas can be produced from methanation of syngas emerging from biomass gasification. However, the input streams of biogenic syngas into the methanation reactor can fluctuate due to the fluctuating biomass composition fed into the upstream gasifier. To compensate these fluctuations and ensure optimal operating conditions, this work’s aim is to develop and compare two suitable control concepts for a novel methanation reactor capable of methanation of raw biogenic syngas without extensive gas conditioning required in advance. A dynamic model-based feed-forward controller with an additional PI-feedback controller to handle model-plant mismatch and a benchmark PI-controller are designed. Both control concepts are evaluated extensively in simulation using a validated dynamic model of the methanation reactor, which is also presented in this work. Both control concepts appear to be well suited to the application in a real-world plant and will be tested in Q1/2026. The validated dynamic model, and the controller design including real world validation will be presented.

M. Kolm, BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies, Graz, AUSTRIA
T. Reiter-Nigitz, BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies, Graz, AUSTRIA
J. Mueller, Institute of Energy Process Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander University, Nuernberg, GERMANY
J. Karl, Institute of Energy Process Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander University, Nuernberg, GERMANY
M. Horn, Institute of Automation and Control, Graz University of Technology, AUSTRIA
M. Goelles, BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies, Graz, AUSTRIA